Oswalt pitches Astros past Johnson, D-Backs

HOUSTON A great day for Craig Biggio turned into a great big wait for Randy Johnson.

Johnson had to interrupt his pregame warmups - throwing, stopping, throwing again - when the ceremony to retire Craig Biggio's No. 7 went 14 minutes longer than scheduled Sunday, but Johnson took the high road after a 3-0 loss to Roy Oswalt and the Astros, giving a simple no when asked if the delay affected him.

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Ty Wigginton's three-run home run with two outs in the first inning was all the scoring, as the D-Backs got only two singles by Stephen Drew after scoring 23 runs in the first two games of the series.

"You knew after watching the first two games that to see that kind of performance three times would have been a lot to ask for," Johnson said.

Johnson (10-9) made his seventh quality start in his last eight but lost to the Astros for the first time in seven career starts to remain at 294 career victories. He could have eight more starts this season.

Oswalt (11-8) still has never lost to the D-Backs at Minute Maid Park, going 6-0.

"Randy had very good stuff. It was just one of those days," catcher Chris Snyder said.

"That pitch to (Wigginton) was down. It was not that bad of a pitch. Everything the guy puts wood on is a base hit."

Johnson walked Mark Loretta in the first, his only walk, before Miguel Tejada grounded a single into the hole at short that kicked off Drew's glove.

Johnson got Lance Berkman to line out before Wigginton extended his career-long hitting streak to 14 games with his 15th homer. He was 9-for-12 with two homers and five RBIs in the series, which the D-Backs won by taking the first two games.

"That's really what it's all about," Johnson said about winning series, "trying to hold off the Dodgers."

The D-Backs (64-60) dropped into a tie with Los Angeles in the NL West when the Dodgers beat Milwaukee. Still, it was a successful trip for the D-Backs, who took two of three from Colorado and Houston and have not lost any of their five series on the road since the All-Star break.

"You're going to take that," manager Bob Melvin said. "We had some struggles earlier (on the road), but we seemed to put that behind us. The schedule is better at home, and we have to take advantage. We have to reinvigorate ourselves."

Drew's third-inning single was the only hit off Oswalt, who was throwing 94 mph.

Snyder also walked in the third, but was thrown out attempting to score from second to end the inning.

"That's probably as hard as we've seen him throw this year," Melvin said.

"When Oswalt has stuff like he did today, it's hard to do anything."